


That's Not Creepy At All

by Merfreak



Category: The Walking Dead (TV)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-18
Updated: 2016-07-18
Packaged: 2018-07-24 17:15:55
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,479
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7516501
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Merfreak/pseuds/Merfreak
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Tess is stuck in the middle of the apocalypse with a child when she runs into Daryl Dixon.</p>
            </blockquote>





	That's Not Creepy At All

**Author's Note:**

> This is a pretty short fic, it takes place after the prison fell, no smut, just a bit off fluff :3 Let me know what you think

Tess was walking down the train tracks; the crisp autumn air had long since numbed her nose, although the rest of her body was warm. 

“Kitty,” a little voice piped up. Tess looked down next to her and saw Sarah looking up at her, her pudgy cheeks bright red. Tess had been Sarah’s babysitter when the world went to shit. Tess had been able to find Sarah’s mom, but she was already turned. Since then, Tess took upon herself the job of being the little girl’s new mother. Tess had been Sarah’s babysitter for a long time, she had been steadily watching her begin to walk, and begin to talk. Now, Sarah could walk a fair amount, and talk about the same, even though some words were jumbled. “Kitty,” Sarah called again, a little breathless. Sarah had taken to calling Tess Kitty, Tess wasn’t exactly sure why. 

“Yeah, baby?” Tess asked, crouching down next to the girl. 

“I’m tired,” Sarah said, wiping her arm across her nose. Tess looked around, they were still far away from any towns, and she preferred to rest in houses. 

“Alright sweetie, c’mere,” Tess sighed, lifting Sarah up into her arms. The extra weight made Tess sway slightly; she was already weighed down by two backpacks, but she could handle it. Sarah snuggled into Tess’s shoulder as Tess began to walk, it wasn’t long before Sarah’s breathing evened out in sleep. The sun was setting by the time Tess found a suitable grove of trees to make camp under. When Tess set Sarah down in a makeshift bed made of blankets, Sarah’s eyelids fluttered, but she didn’t wake. Tess set down her backpacks, and then pulled out her knife, holding it at the ready, she sat down next to Sarah, her back against the tree. It was halfway through the night, and Tess was struggling to keep her eyes open. There was a rustle of leaves, and Tess shot to her feet, causing Sarah to wake up with a start. 

“Kitty?” Sarah asked, her eyes scared.   
“It’s okay baby, I’m here,” Tess said, crouching down next to the child. “Listen to me, you hold onto this knife, just like I showed you, I’ll be right back, just stay quiet, okay, I love you,” Tess whispered, handing Sarah a knife. Sarah nodded, tears welling in her eyes. Tess quickly stood up and, hefting her knife, she crept in the direction of the noise. Tess walked cautiously around their campsite, moving out further on each circle. She could see nothing, but that didn’t mean something wasn’t out there. Unfortunately, the sound could have been from a bloodthirsty walker, or a rabbit scrounging for food. Tess moved to walk back towards the campsite, but she suddenly found herself pressed against a tree, a hand over her mouth. Tess tried to slash out with her knife, but it was easily knocked from her hand. Tess tried to yell, but all that came out were muffled vocalizations. 

“Who’re ya?” It was a man’s voice that Tess heard, it had a strong southern accent as well. The hand was lowered from her mouth. 

“Let me go,” Tess hissed, being careful not to raise her voice. She didn’t want to attract walkers, or worse, Sarah. 

“Who…are ya,” the man said again. Tess quickly pulled her knee up, driving it into his groin. “Shit!” he cried, stumbling backwards. Tess quickly ran, darting around trees, flying back to the campsite, to Sarah. Tess was almost to the clearing, when she was tackled to the ground, she was stunned for a moment, the breath knocked out of her body. Tess got up, struggling against the man’s grip. 

“Please, just let me go!” Tess cried, her heart was pounding out of her chest. Tess didn’t care if the man hurt her, but she would do everything in her power to protect Sarah. It was then that a small voice whimpered out, causing Tess’s face to go white. 

“Kitty?” Sarah asked. Tess felt the man’s grip loosen, and she took the opportunity to wrench her arm free, and she ran over, shoving Sarah behind her. 

“It’s okay baby,” Tess murmured, feeling Sarah grip onto her shirt. “Who…who are you?!” Tess asked, trying to hide her fear. The man stepped forwards, and in the dusty glow of pre-sunrise, Tess saw a man with relatively long black hair, dark eyes, a crossbow, and a leather vest. “I’ll say it again…who are you?”

“I’m Daryl…Dixon,” the man said, stepping closer. 

“No, stay back,” Tess cried. “Why did you attack me?”

“I didn’t know who ya were, in fact, I still don’t,” Daryl said. 

“I’m Tess, this is Sarah…you’re the only person we’ve seen since…you know,” Tess said. “Are there…do you have other people?” 

“I used to, we were livin’ in a prison, we got sep’rated though,” Daryl said. 

“Oh…I’m sorry…” Tess said, trying to sort through her mind. “Are we…can we…stay with you?” Tess asked. She didn’t want to seem weak, but it was her feelings that in a zombie apocalypse, anyone who’s alive needs to band together. Besides, this man…Daryl, he would be very helpful. 

 

It had been two weeks since Tess and Sarah had joined Daryl, they were now hiding out in an abandoned house in a higher end neighborhood.   
“Dary-uh,” Sarah said, tugging on Daryl’s pants leg. Tess was sitting cross legged on the kitchen table, sharpening one of her many knives, watching Sarah and Daryl’s exchange; a smile gracing her lips. 

“Yeah,” Daryl asked, looking down at the girl.

“Dary-uh, I’m hungry,” Sarah whined, tugging on his pants again. 

“A’right munchkin,” Daryl crouched down. “Can ya guess which hand?” Daryl held both of his closed fists out in front of him. Sarah studied his hands closely, causing Tess’s smile to widen. 

“That one,” Sarah said, pointing to Daryl’s left hand. Daryl unfolded his fingers, revealing a cellophane wrapped package of gingersnap cookies. 

“Very smart girly,” Daryl chuckled, ruffling her hair as he straightened up. Tess had no idea how he managed to find treats for Sarah, but he always had something on hand. Daryl caught Tess looking at him, and he smirked before turning back around. 

“C’mere Sarah,” Tess said, scooting off of the table. Sarah swallowed her cookie and walked over to Tess. “It’s time for bed, okay sweetie?” Tess smiled, scooping Sarah up into her arms. “Wake me in an hour or two, okay Daryl?” Tess asked. The gruff redneck nodded. Tess carried Sarah over to the living room where they had a few blankets laid down on the floor. Tess laid down and Sarah curled against her, quickly falling asleep. It wasn’t long before Tess fell asleep too. Tess woke up and saw Daryl looking at her from across the room. “That’s not creepy at all, Dixon,” Tess yawned, pushing herself up; careful not to disturb Sarah. 

“Sorry,” he mumbled, casting his eyes down. 

“It’s alright…would you mind sitting with Sarah while I go get some water?” Tess asked. “Don’t ask me how she knows, but if you leave her in the middle of the night, she freaks out,” Tess smiled softly down at the child. Daryl nodded curtly and moved over, taking Tess’s place next to Sarah. “Thank you, I’ll be right back,” Tess walked quietly out of the room and to the kitchen. Tess grabbed one of the canteens from the counter, and slugged the water down. She tended to sleep poorly in unfamiliar places; this led to nightmares, which led to her body temperature going up, which led to dehydration. Once Tess had her fill of water, she pressed the cool metal against her face, rolling it over her flushed cheeks. Nobody every understood her night terrors, they weren’t traditional, like being naked in school, or being chased by monsters. Tess wasn’t even able to describe them, it was just like a rush of overpowering emotions, and feelings, and sounds, and experiences. Tess let out a rush of air before setting the canteen back down and tiptoeing out to the living room. Tess saw Daryl lying down; Sarah curled up, holding onto his arm like a security blanket. When Daryl saw Tess, he moved to get up, but Tess shook her head. “No, don’t,” Tess whispered. 

“Someone needs ta keep watch,” Daryl said. 

“We can keep watch lying down,” Tess said, settling down on the blanket on the other side of Sarah. Daryl looked almost like he was about to argue, but his eyes flicked to Sarah, and he shut up. Tess didn’t think she was going to fall asleep, but she quickly felt her eyes getting heavy, and the next thing she knew, Daryl was shaking her awake. 

“Tess…Tess, wake up,” Daryl said. Tess shot up, she could feel cold sweat beading on her body. 

“Daryl, what?” Tess tried to say, her heartbeat slowing. 

“You were having a nightmare,” Daryl said, his face concerned. 

“I’m…It’s okay, thanks,” Tess murmured, wiping her forehead. “Where’s Sarah?” Tess asked, terror flooding her body again. 

“She’s right here, she’s okay,” Daryl said, moving aside so Tess could see Sarah still sleeping soundly. Tess took a few deep breaths, calming herself; looking down she could see her hands shaking. 

“Tess...” Daryl began to say, but he clearly didn’t know how to go on. 

“I’ve lost someone before, a long time ago, it’s over, I’m fine Daryl,” Tess said in the most minimal explanation she could manage. Daryl looked confused, but he didn’t pursue it. 

“I’m going out on a run, we need more food,” Daryl said, standing up. 

“Go ahead, I promised Sarah we’d see if we could scavenge anything out of some of the nearby gardens,” Tess smiled, dropping Sarah a kiss on her head to wake her. Sarah yawned as she crawled into Tess’s lap, allowing Tess to lift her up. 

“Where’s Dary-uh going?” Sarah asked, pushing her hair away from her face. 

“He’s going on a run baby, he’ll be right back,” Tess smiled. Sarah held out her arms to have Daryl take her. He paused for a second, but lifted Sarah into his arms. 

“Be care-fuh,” Sarah said sternly, causing Tess to smile. 

“I will, yer gonna go pick some carrots with yer mom, okay,” Daryl said, setting Sarah on the ground. Tess’s eyes widened, she had never told Daryl that Sarah wasn’t her kid, it had never come up, and she had never talked to Sarah about her real mother. When Tess had tried to find Sarah’s mom when the apocalypse started, she arrived at their house just in time to see Sarah’s dad tear Sarah’s mum’s throat out. Tess had no idea what Sarah remembered, and she had been too scared to mention it. Before Tess could stop herself, she started to say:

“No, she’s not-” before she caught herself. Sarah didn’t notice Tess’s slip, but Daryl did, and he scrunched his eyebrows, but didn’t say anything. 

“A’right Dary-uh,” Sarah smiled. Daryl turned and left, shrugging his crossbow over his shoulder. 

 

Tess and Sarah were back in their temporary house, rising off the two carrots and handful of tomatoes they had managed to find.   
“And all the pretty little horses…” Tess was singing. “Blacks and bays…dapples and greys,” Tess was so busy singing, she didn’t notice the small gang of men enter the room. 

“What do we have here?” a gruff voice said. Tess spun around, grabbing onto Sarah. Three intimidatingly large men were closing in on Tess and Sara. Tess’s eyes darted around, and she tried to grab for her knife which was lying on the counter a few feet away. 

“I don’t think so,” the leader growled, snapping the back of his hand across Tess’s face. Tess screamed and fell backwards, almost tripping over Sarah. The little girl was whimpering, cowering behind Tess. 

“The rest of our group is going to be back here soon, if you leave now, we won’t hurt you,” Tess said, fighting back tears. It was almost on cue when another man came running into the kitchen; he spoke furiously to the others, pointing behind him. Tess only caught one word; another. 

“Shit,” the leader swore. “Alright, grab them,” the said gruffly, stepping back. The two other men stepped forwards. 

“DARYL!” Tess screamed. She ran through a list of options in her head, all she knew for sure was that she wasn’t letting anyone hurt Sarah. Tess launched herself at the leader, kicking and scratching. The two other goons ran to their leader, trying to pry Tess off of him. “Sarah, run baby, run to Daryl!” Tess cried out. “RUN!” Out of the corner of her eye, Tess saw Sarah take off, sprinting out of the kitchen. One of the thugs made to follow Sarah, but Tess screamed and leaped onto him, clawing at his face with her fingernails. The man howled in pain, and she felt another man pull her off. Without pausing, Tess threw her head backwards, slamming the back of her skull into the man’s nose. The man let out a string of swears, releasing her as he cupped his nose. Tess heard the distant sound of Daryl screaming her name before a sharp pain erupted in the back of her head, and she crumpled to the floor. 

 

Tess awoke to water being dripped across her face. The blurry figure of Daryl came into focus, his worried eyes hovering inches away from hers. “Daryl,” Tess groaned, her voice cracking. Tess swallowed then tried again. “Daryl…what happened?” Suddenly memories of the attack flooded Tess’s mind. “Sarah,” she gasped, sitting up. Daryl quickly wrapped an arm around Tess’s back, making sure she could sit up alright. “Where’s Sarah?!” Tess cried, tears pricking at the corner of her eyes. 

“It’s okay, I’ve got Sarah, she’s right here, she’s fine,” Daryl said, moving aside to allow Sarah to clamber up onto the bed.   
“What…what happened?” Tess asked, rubbing the back of her head, wincing at the sharp pang of pain. Daryl glanced at Sarah before meeting Tess’s eyes and shaking his head barely perceptibly. Against her will, tears began to roll down Tess’s face. 

“Sarah, c’mere, you go an play with yer doll,” Daryl said, quickly lifting Sarah off of the bed and gently pushing her in the direction of the living room. Sarah scampered off. 

“She has a doll?” Tess whispered. 

“Tess, you’ve been out for a week,” Daryl said softly. 

“What? A week? That’s…that’s impossible,” Tess trailed off. “Sarah, she…” Tess began to cry again. 

“Tess, she’s okay, yer okay,” Daryl said, his arm still around her back. 

“What have I missed? I…the last thing I remember, I was fighting those men, I yelled at Sarah to run…” Tess strained to remember more, but everything was blurry. 

“I found Sarah, she was runnin’ out of the house. When I got inside you had two guys on the ground; broken nose and ripped up face. I was jist in time t’ see ya go down. I took out the last guy, then we all ran. This is the third house we’ve been in,” Daryl said.

“I was unconscious, how did you take care of me and Sarah at the same time?” Tess asked, a stray tear falling off her lashes. 

“I carried ya,” Daryl mumbled. 

“Oh,” Tess said softly. They sat in silence for a minute, both of them avoiding looking at each other. 

“Are ya finally gonna tell me about how ya got Sarah?” Daryl asked. “An’ why you’re so protective of ‘er?” 

“What?” Tess scrunched her eyebrows. “I’m not…”

“Yes ya are, if she’s away from ya fer even a second, ya freak out,” 

“I’ve lost somebody before…” Tess tried, but Daryl cut her off. 

“We’ve all lost somebody, what makes this person so damn special?” Daryl asked, his sharp words stung Tess, making her loose her temper. 

“Because she was my sister!” Tess burst out. “She was my sister,” Tess whispered again, soft tears streaming down her face. “I was 16, my sister, Lucy, was barely 2. I came home from school one day to find her crying in her crib, and a hundred dollars in cash on the table. My parents had never been great, but to come home and find out that they left, without a note, just leaving my baby sister alone. After that, I became my sister’s mother. I couldn’t go to the police because they’d just put us both in foster care, we’d never see each other again. I’d go to school all day, and my sister would go to the free student day care. Then I’d go to work at a high end ritzy day care where I’d get minimum wage, and they’d let Lucy stay there while I worked. I…I was barely getting any sleep, with rent, and taking care of Lucy, I could only afford to eat fast food maybe once every two days. It was when Lucy was older and I left her at home, it was only supposed to be for twenty minutes, but when I came back, I found my mother, trying to take Lucy away. I…I tried to stop her, but…I wasn’t strong enough. I was 20, my sister was 6 when she was kidnapped by our mother.” Tess tried to go on, but she began to cry, full force sobs that shook her body. Daryl pulled Tess into a hug, rubbing her back until she calmed down. “I…I started babysitting for Sarah, it was a way to get a little extra money aside from my full time job. I was babysitting her when shit hit the fan, I tried to find her parents, but we got to her house just in time to see her father ripping her mother’s throat out.” Tess latched onto Daryl, wrapping her arms around him. Daryl was stiff at first, surprised, but he hugged back, letting her cry. “I’ve become Sarah’s mother now, just like with Lucy, and…I couldn’t…I can’t lose her the same way.” 

“Ya won’t, I promise, I’ll help ya keep her safe,” Daryl whispered into Tess’s hair. Tess pushed back shakily. 

“Help me up?” Tess asked. Daryl stood up, and then helped Tess get up, letting her lean heavily against him until she got her footing. Daryl helped Tess into the dimly lit living room where Sarah was talking quietly to her raggedy looking doll. “Hey, Sarah,” Tess smiled. 

“Kitty!” Sarah squealed, running over to Tess, she jumped and Tess lifted her up into a hug. 

“Oh, I missed you baby,” Tess whispered, kissing Sarah’s cheek. “Was Daryl good to you while I was…sleeping?” Tess smiled.   
“Daryl got me a dolly!” Sarah grinned, showing Tess the doll. 

“Oh my goodness! That is a very pretty dolly!” Tess laughed. “What’s her name?”

“I don’t know, I can’t decide between Monica, or Lucy,” Sarah said seriously. Tess’s eyes widened slightly, and she grabbed Daryl’s hand; Sarah didn’t notice though. 

“Monica, that’s a pretty name,” Tess smiled. Sarah nodded, clearly not registering what Tess had just said. “Alright baby, it’s time for bed, say goodnight,” 

“Night Dary-uh,” Sarah smiled, crawling underneath a blanket. 

“Night ya little demon,” Daryl smirked before exiting the room. Tess crouched down next to Sarah. 

“I’ll see you in the morning sweetie,” Tess whispered, kissing the top of Sarah’s head. 

“Night mommy,” Sarah breathed, closing her eyes.

 

After kissing Sarah once more, Tess walked out of the living room and met Daryl in the kitchen. 

“She’s out cold,” Tess smiled, letting out a long breath. “Thank you for looking after her for the past week,” Tess said, rubbing a hand across her forehead. 

“Yeah, well, it was no big deal,” Daryl said. “Listen Tess, I’m sorry about jist assumin’ that whatever yer past was, it wasn’t…bad,” he stumbled over his words. “If ya ever need ta talk, I’m here,” Daryl turned to leave, but Tess shifted her weight off the table. 

“Daryl, wait,” Tess said. Daryl turned around, and Tess suddenly pressed her lips against his. Daryl stiffened for a second, and then wrapped his arms around Tess, drawing her closer to him. After a few long blissful seconds, Tess pulled away for air. The moment gone, Tess cast her eyes downwards, heat creeping across her cheeks. “G’night Daryl,” Tess whispered before scampering out of the room to lie down next to Sarah. Tess could feel her cheeks flaming, she bit her lip but was unable to stop the smile that spread across her face. A while later, Tess was still awake enough to feel Daryl lie down next to her, pulling her back against his front. Tess smiled sleepily, snuggling backwards into him. Just before Tess drifted off, she felt Daryl lightly kiss the back of her head.


End file.
